The Poynter Institute is reporting that MS NOW host Rachel Maddow said President Donald Trump keeps attacking the media because it distracts from his political troubles. In an interview on "The Poynter Report Podcast," Maddow said Trump's approval rating is as low as it has been in his political career and that he believes swiping at the press unites his base. She said he treats it as "an easy bit of distraction and point scoring." The interview followed Trump's ban of prominent news outlets from covering his administration and a television commercial attacking "fake news."
Poynter said the White House press ban remains unsettled. CNN, MS NOW and Politico sued and won a 14-day temporary restraining order restoring their White House credentials, but Poynter said the ruling did not explicitly address the smaller television pool that covers the president aboard Air Force One and in the Oval Office. CNN was blocked from traveling with Trump on Saturday, and the other networks declined to send a substitute, leaving no networks on the trip. Fox News covered Trump on Sunday and shared its coverage with the other networks. Poynter cited The New York Times reporting that each time CNN comes up in the pool rotation, the networks will decide whether to provide a substitute crew, and otherwise CNN's slot will go unfilled.
Poynter also reported that the U.S. government paid for a new pro-Trump advertisement that aired Sunday on Fox, including during an NFL broadcast. It said the black-and-white ad shows Trump walking down a hallway in slow motion with audio from a previous rally speech in which he says he will "rout the fake news media." Poynter said the ad closely mirrors one from Trump's 2024 campaign, with the addition of a disclosure that it was "paid for by the U.S. government." It said the ad was the second government-funded pro-Trump ad in a week. Poynter cited The New York Times reporting that ethics experts argue the administration is violating federal laws banning the use of taxpayer dollars for propaganda.
Poynter reported that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino drew criticism from conservatives over a social media post showing what appeared to be an AI-generated video of him spraying champagne on a luggage cart pushed by Eric Trump. Poynter said conservative activist Carrie Prejean Boller responded that many Americans cannot afford groceries, gas or mortgages, and that "MAGA is dead."
Poynter also reported that former college football star and ESPN analyst Tim Tebow said he is pausing his relationship with Life Surge, a Christian group accused of using predatory tactics to exploit people's faith and financial insecurity. Poynter said Tebow told the Gainesville Sun the allegations are "extremely, extremely serious" and that his team is investigating. Poynter said the scrutiny followed an investigation by the "Pablo Torre Finds Out" podcast and Mother Jones.